


I'll draw myself on your skin

by runaway_fancies



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:09:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27727933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/runaway_fancies/pseuds/runaway_fancies
Summary: Zuko is ten when he feels the burn on his shoulder. Katara is eleven when she feels hers. But they live in a world torn apart by war. What space is there for soulmates? For love? How can they wade across all their differences to find each other?
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 163





	I'll draw myself on your skin

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I would write my one story, post it and go. But now, I've got ideas coming out from everywhere. And I couldn't even concentrate on my WIP until I did this. Sorry! So, a soulmate AU. I've read many, never written one before. I thought before posting this, should I really put up one more soulmate AU? Is it necessary? But I guess fanfiction is all about self-indulgence so here it is. If anyone wants to read it, hope you like it!
> 
> So, this is based on the idea that you get your soul marks at a moment of intense emotional turmoil for the other person. They're really rare and not always reciprocal.

When Zuko is ten, he feels his shoulder burn one afternoon. It’s strange because he had just been playing in the garden and for once, there is no fire nearby. He screams out and reaches out towards his mother, who is running towards him, panic on her face. And his right shoulder blade just _burns_ and _burns_. His mother reaches him and drops to her knees beside him, pulling aside his tunic and suddenly, the pain is gone as soon as it had begun. And Zuko is left with panting breaths and his mother’s gasp.

Zuko cannot see the mark himself, no matter how he twists and turns before the mirror but Ursa has drawn it for him. It looks like a necklace, ribbons curling at the ends, a round pendant carved with with swirls and waves attached to the middle. He does not know exactly what it means but his parents do. He overhears their argument, although he knows he is not supposed to, Mother wouldn’t want him to but really, Father’s not even trying to keep quiet and that’s just _inviting_ Zuko to listen, right? Father wants to burn the mark off him and he recoils in terror, remembering that horrible sensation when he’d got it. But Mother murmurs things like ‘old fairy tales’ and ‘does not mean anything’ and ‘our son is loyal’.

Yes, he _is_ loyal. He will always be loyal to Father, to the Fire Nation. Zuko thinks he hates the mark.

(But he doesn’t. It’s beautiful.)

***

Katara is eleven and her side is burning. She drops her bowl of food with a whimper, claps her hands on her right hip and curls up in a ball. She is vaguely aware that Gran-gran and Sokka are hovering over her in complete confusion and distress but she cannot say anything or even _move_. Not while her skin burns as though someone has set a branch of burning wood against it.

When it’s done and the pain is gone and Gran-gran has made her strip her parka so she can examine her, Katara stares at the black mark on her skin in fascination as her grandmother’s eyes widen. There, set down clearly for her to see, is a set of curved twin blades crossed near the hilts. Sokka cries out that it’s too cool for Katara and _simply not fair_. And Gran-gran is murmuring something about ‘soulmarks’. And Katara can only stare at the swords because they’re deadly and powerful and beautiful.

***

The ship is half-rusted and worn with none of the comforts he is used to. And Zuko knows that his growling like a platypus-bear at everyone who comes near him makes him seem a child and not the man he really is. But he can’t help it when the pain threatens to overwhelm him. He’d thought he’d known pain before, known it at ten but that was nothing, _nothing_ , compared to this. They’re heading off around the world to look for the Avatar and he demands that Uncle bring him more and more maps. And he finally knows what the symbol on his back is (he’d memorised it years ago) and he’s so angry, he’d burn that off too if he wasn’t afraid of fire now.

And that’s the truly sad part, isn’t it? Not the prince that is banished, not the Fire Nation boy with a Water Tribe soulmate but the firebender who is afraid of fire. He wants to laugh or cry but either exacerbates his injury so he just snaps at Uncle some more. And hates himself for it.

***

The Fire Nation prince is a bully and a jerk and Katara wishes she could beat him into the ground but they are too busy escaping on Appa after Aang’s surprising display. She worries about her people and hopes the Fire Nation does not go back to hurt them. But now, they have to run and she can’t even think about all that. She runs a hand over her hip, it’s become a habit.

The people in the Tribe had been surprised to learn of her mark. The elders has clucked over it and Gran-gran had explained some things about her ‘soulmate’ who was apparently out there somewhere in the world, the person who will understand her best and who she will trust and depend upon. Katara has never been away from the South Pole before this so she isn’t sure where to begin looking for that person. Learning waterbending is more important for now but perhaps later, when she and Aang have learned everything that they can, maybe she can go looking for him or her. They'd like to meet her just as much as she would, wouldn't they?

***

The news that he has so closely missed the Avatar is very unwelcome indeed. Going out onto the deck of the rig, something shining in the sun catches his attention. He picks up the little object and freezes. The blue ribbon, slightly frayed at one end. The little jewel with the Water Tribe symbol carved into its face. It’s burned firmly into his mind. And no! _No_. It cannot be.

Maybe Mother had made a mistake. He’s never really been able to see the mark very clearly. This necklace is just a coincidence. It means nothing. Nothing.

And he can almost hear a voice in his mind laughing at him. It speaks with father's smooth tones. There are no coincidences.

***

Jet is brave and strong and noble. He’s taking care of so many people. And Katara has seen his swords, the two curved swords that he uses. They aren’t an exact match for what is depicted on her hip. But even the spirits aren’t always exact, are they? And Gran-gran was right. He understands her struggles, her pain. He saved them and of course, he’s trustworthy and dependable and Sokka just doesn’t like that there is another boy who is older and more experienced than him around. It hurts his ‘manly man’ image of himself.

She could cry when Jet proves himself to be just as bad as Sokka had said. Are there no good boys in the world? Are they all jerks and assholes?

***

Katara is saying something. He should be listening, he knows. She gets impatient sometimes if he doesn’t listen to her, although she always tries to hide it. But his eyes are fixed on her side, on the dark coloured mark set into her skin. He’s seen it before and he’d been heartbroken because it meant that she would not feel the same way about him. The crossed swords cannot possibly represent him. But for the first time, it registers that he has seen those swords. Seen them recently, in fact, at the Pohuai Stronghold. And no! It cannot be!

It’s not _fair_ , Aang thinks. Zuko is a jerk, despite the fact that he’d helped break Aang out. He knows now it was probably out of selfish reasons. Zuko hates Katara and Katara hates him. And he, Aang, he _loves_ her. Why should this be happening? What were the spirits thinking? None of this is _right_.

He wonders if he should tell Katara. He looks at her as she moves the water around, her fingers seeming to dance, the joy in her face.

He doesn’t tell her.

***

Zuko thinks it’s just his luck that he should run into the Avatar here while he is hunting Azula, when he isn’t even looking for the annoying kid. Fighting alongside the Avatar’s group against his sister is something he had never dreamed off. The universe sure does like laughing at Zuko’s expense. His life is a joke to someone out there.

But then Uncle is injured and Zuko is beside himself with fear and desperation and _she’s_ offering to help and he just wants everyone to get away from them so he can feel safe again. So he shoots fire. But it’s not directly at them, it’s over their heads. Zuko has done a lot of things wrong, he’s made mistake after mistake after mistake and he’s not even sure which of his steps were right and which weren’t. But even he is not terrible enough to hurt his soulmate.

He’ll frighten her away, he’ll chase her far far away from him. But he won’t hurt her.

***

The tears stream down her cheeks uninterrupted as she attempts to heal Aang, to bring him back from the edge of death. She’s not really sure why she’s crying. It’s not all about Aang, he’ll recover. The spirit water will make sure of it.

And Zuko’s just a stupid boy. A stupid boy who she should never have expected anything of and who she never should have opened her heart to and who she should have known would betray them. She can’t believe she told him about her mother. She can’t get over the emotion in his voice when he’d reciprocated.

It was probably lies anyway. That’s all the Fire Nation is good for. Lies and betrayal and murder.

The tears still flow.

***

Zuko has attempted to forget the mark on his skin. It should be easy because he himself almost never sees it. But with Mai’s arms around him, all he can think about are Katara’s wide eyes. And it makes him sick.

Well, what could he have done! Azula offered him a second chance. For the first time in his life, he has his father’s approval. What does the Water Tribe girl matter? She doesn’t even know that he bears her mark. It was stupidity that made them open up to each other in that cave filled with the unearthly green light. His idiotic brain made up the softness in her eyes as she’d looked at him, the warmth of her fingers.

Zuko clenches his hands, shuts his eyes and forcefully shoves all images of her away.

***

Katara storms away from Zuko’s room after her confrontation in a rage. How _dare_ he look so eager to see her? How _dare_ he get that wounded look in his eyes? After all that he has done, after what he did to her, how _dare_ he make her look like the bad person for distrusting him? She wants to scream but instead she takes herself off to the fountain and aggressively bends until it is time for dinner. When his royal highness offers to make tea for everyone after dinner she turns away. Maybe if she closes her eyes to him, he’ll cease to exist. She can hope.

***

The Ember Island house is as deserted and empty as he’d thought it would be when they land there. Katara stumbles down and looks like she is barely functioning and Zuko has to physically stop himself from reaching out. Knowing what a terrible state the rooms are in and having no energy to clean at the moment, he doesn’t bother to go inside, instead lighting a fire in the courtyard itself. Appa rumbles in contentment and probably exhaustion as he collapses next to the fire, right behind Katara who is hunched over with her arms around her knees. He can see her shoulders shaking as if she is crying. Zuko doesn’t know what to do.

He seats himself next to her, careful to keep adequate distance.

“Do you think I was wrong in letting him go?”

He’s startled to be addressed but turns to her. “Do you feel like you did the wrong thing?”

“No. I looked at him and he was such a pathetic little man and I didn’t feel like it was worth anything to hurt him. I didn’t think it would make me feel better.”

“Then you did the right thing. Whatever you thought was right was the right thing.”

“Then why does it still hurt?”

“I don’t know.” It’s a whisper. He really doesn’t. Zuko feels like he has been dealing with hurt and right and wrong his entire life and he is never sure of any of it. He’s really the wrong person to come to for advice. But he tries. “Maybe letting go just takes time. Maybe you took the first step and the rest will come easier.”

“I’m sorry for threatening you.”

“You shouldn’t be. You were protecting your friends. You were brave.”

“Yeah,” she snorts, tear-tracks on her cheeks. “That’s exactly what I feel like right now. Brave.”

“You’re the bravest person I know, Katara.”

She sighs. “Thank you for coming with me. For supporting me without ever saying anything.”

“I’d do it a hundred times if you needed me to.”

She looks at him. “Yes, I believe you would.”

Zuko studies her. She looks tired but wide-awake. He’d really love some sleep, now that the sun has set and night is coming on hard. But he’s not going to leave Katara alone. “If you would like to tell me about your mother, I’d be happy to hear. You don’t have to, if you don’t want. But you can. I’ll listen.”

She’s still looking at him. He can’t tell what she’s thinking, can’t make out the emotions in her eyes. It doesn’t matter. If she talks, he’ll listen. If she wants silence, he can give her that too.

“My mother used to tell us stories on winter nights...”

***

Katara yawns widely and wipes her forehead. It’s pretty early in the morning and she can’t believe how hot and humid it is already. She wants to submerge herself in the ocean and not come out until the evening. She’s not sure how the boys are doing their firebending practices in this.

Walking out on to the porch is a surprise. Aang and Zuko are indeed practicing. But it’s a shock to see that Zuko has his shirt off as well. Aang frequently sheds his but the older boy has stayed firmly clothed during the entire week they’ve been here. As they punch and twist and turn, Katara suddenly freezes.

There’s something on Zuko’s shoulder, a very familiar looking black mark standing out starkly against his skin. There’s too much movement, she can’t make it out properly but it looks somewhat like a snake. Or a curling ribbon. Like a necklace that she has worn all her life. It takes all her self-control to stay still, to not tackle him and demand to be shown his mark in front of all the others.

He’s in the kitchen getting a glass of water when she storms up to him later. The others are all down at the beach and Katara has deliberately stayed behind to confront this stupid boy who honestly takes up more of her mind than he should.

“How could you not tell me!”

He looks wary, which is understandable, because while they’ve been on good terms since their trip together and they’ve been helping each other around the house, it hasn’t been that long since he was in her bad books.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“You didn’t have a shirt on today. I saw your back.” She watches him freeze. He knows what they are talking about now. “How could you not tell me?”

“Would you have told me if it was you?” His tone is guarded, careful. She thinks of the mark on her hip, of the sheathed sword that she has seen amongst his possessions. She’s never seen him use it though and she doesn’t understand the duality of her mark. But that’s a thing for later.

“How long have you known?”

“Since the prison rig where I found your necklace,” he sighs. “I can’t see my mark very well myself but my mother drew it for me once. I never forgot what it looked like. I wished very hard for it to be a coincidence when I saw your necklace.” He gives a wry smile. “I’m sure I’m the last person you would want as a soulmate. I got it when I was ten.” Katara stiffens, realising what incident caused it. Looking at his scar, she can guess what incident produced her mark. “My father wanted to burn it off when he realised it was a Water Tribe symbol. My mother convinced him not to. After that, well, we were on different sides of a war and I was trying very hard to forget my mark existed. And then I joined you but you hated me, with good reason.”

“And this last week?”

“I don’t want you to think you’re stuck with me, Katara." He looks away from her. "I’ll ignore the mark and you can forget it too.”

“Zuko.” She can’t quite conceal her exasperation from her tone. Ever since her grandmother had explained to her that sometimes the spirits themselves picked out two people for each other, she’s wanted to find her match. Forgetting this, forgetting _him_ , is not even a possibility that needs acknowledging. “Can I...may I touch it?”

His breath catches. “You...you want to?” She’s never heard him sound so vulnerable, so lost. She holds out her hand. He studies her for a long long second and then shrugs aside the right side of his tunic. His skin is warm when she slides her hand around his shoulder and to the back, to rest against the tattoo. She’d move around him but she’s too busy looking at Zuko, at the shock in his eyes, his mouth parted in surprise. A tingle runs right through her arm and she gasps at the same moment that Zuko shudders as though her touch electrified him.

Katara takes his hand in her other one and lays it over her right hip, where the mark lies under her skirt. His hand rests partly on her waist, hot to the touch, and he casts her a look of confusion. “There.”

It takes him a moment to understand. “You...” If his face had been surprised when she asked to touch his mark, it looks absolutely wrecked now. “Katara...”

“It’s a pair of crossed blades. I didn’t know what it meant because I’ve never seen you use yours.”

“They’re dual dao. I didn’t...I never thought...” And then, in a whisper, “Can I see?”

Slowly, reluctantly, she withdraws her hands from him and tugs one corner of her wrap skirt down. It’s there, on her skin, as always. She’s gotten used to it but Zuko looks at it like it is the most wondrous sight he has ever seen. When he reaches towards it and brushes it with his fingers, it’s like a shock to her entire system.

Hand splayed over her hip, he looks at her. “What do we do now?”

Katara has no idea.

***

Aang does not like this play at all. He wishes they had all listened to Zuko and not turned up and is gazing morosely out at the night on the balcony when he becomes aware of Katara beside him. And suddenly, he’s not sure why, but his bad mood overflows and Katara is just the easiest target. She may say that she didn’t say anything and that the actor did but he knows exactly what there is between her and Zuko! He’s seen both their marks now.

“But something _is_ going on between the two of you, isn’t there?”

She frowns. “What do you mean? What do you know?”

“Well, I’ve seen your marks, you know.”

Her eyes flash. “How long have you known?”

“Since Pohuai. I saw his swords then. And I realised they were a match.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why am I the last to know?”

“Because I didn’t think it mattered! We were enemies. What could you have done?”

“Still, you never thought that maybe that wasn’t your decision to make? Ugh! You boys.”

“You and Zuko don’t even know each other. You hated each other a few days ago.” He can see her face clouding over with anger. He has to do something! He has to fix this. He can’t lose Katara. “Katara, I love you! I always have. You’re my forever girl. You can’t...you cannot tell me that you love Zuko.”

She looks more annoyed than he has ever seen her. “Did it ever occur to you that I might not love either of you? I’m going inside. I can’t talk about this right now.”

Ugh, Aang wants to hit himself. That conversation could not have gone worse. How did he mess up this terribly?

***

She’s seated on the beach and she doesn’t even turn when he arrives. He stands off to the side for a minute, not wanting to intrude. It’s been an exhausting day with all of them training Aang hard. The tension between him and Aang and Katara was almost palpable and while he is not certain what happened between the two of them, he’s surprised the others have not brought up any questions. He’s tucked away his swords carefully. No need for anyone familiar with Katara’s mark to come across them just yet, by which he means Sokka of course.

He still finds it hard to believe that it’s his mark that she bears, even after having seen it, even after having _touched_ it. His dual dao, his one link to both cousin and mother.

“Come sit,” she waves a hand over the sand to her right. He obeys soundlessly. “You asked me what we were going to do. I think we should get to know one another. So, I’ll trade you stories. One of mine for one of yours.”

He could almost collapse with relief. Since he’s known she was his soulmate, Zuko has lived with the notion that she would not accept him and he had never understood how heavy a burden that was until it suddenly falls away.

Getting to know each other he can do. He’ll bare the inner-most secrets of his heart to Katara if that’s what it takes. He knows she’ll keep them safe.

***

Katara is stifling tears as she runs after subduing Azula. All she can think is that he has to be okay. She cannot lose Zuko, not like this, not after coming so far, not after having just got to know him. She has to reach him, help him, heal him. She doesn’t have spirit water anymore and the fact that it might not be enough, _she_ might not be enough, tears at her. She will not _let_ him give his life for hers.

She is enough. Just barely. But watching him open his eyes calms her. There are going to be more healing sessions. Dozens and dozens of them. She won’t let him up till next month! For now, it's _everything_ that he’s alive. She hasn’t lost him.

She watches hawk-eyed as the Fire Sages call for the few guards to help Zuko to his room. She pays no mind to the startled and scandalised looks of the palace maids as she follows and sequesters herself with him in his room. She ignores the chairs in the room as she crawls up onto the large bed at his side. Zuko does not look like he is protesting so she doesn’t care about anyone else.

“Katara,” he reaches up, brushing her cheek with his fingers. He never volunteers contact himself so it’s slightly shocking but she leans into the touch. “Stop worrying. You saved me. It doesn’t even hurt that much.”

“Liar,” she chokes. He can’t even speak above a whisper. “Wait until you get better and then I’m going to bury you for doing that!”

“As long as you’re around to do it,” he murmurs, almost immediately falling asleep.

She stays awake, despite her exhaustion, nestled into his side and watching over him. Waiting for news.

***

They stand facing each other, a foot of distance between them. There are too many people around them and they’re both aware that they’re being slyly observed by everyone. No one is quite certain how the story of their marks spread but _everyone_ is aware now. And while most seem to think it’s some kind of romantic story, their friends have been merciless. And Hakoda has been studying Zuko with a grimness that hadn’t existed at the Air Temple. Zuko doesn’t know what he thinks he will do. Katara is going home and they probably won’t see each other in months and it’s not like they get any alone time anyway.

“I’ll be back soon,” she murmurs. She’s looking at him with wide eyes, waiting for an indication that this means as much to him as her. Zuko relaxes his mask, meets her eyes. She should be able to see the ache in them as clearly as if he spelt it out for her. He doesn’t want her to leave him, he doesn’t, he doesn’t.

“I’ll wait for you.”

She laughs slightly. There’s a wet sound to it as if tears are threatening. “We’ve waited longer for each other, right?”

“I’ll try to come visit you too. Soon, Katara.”

She gives a decisive nod, steps forward and puts her arms around his neck. His tighten around her. For a second, their hands come to rest against each other’s marks, hidden away under their clothes. Everyone might be watching, but this is theirs. This moment, this embrace, the symbols on each other’s bodies. She turns her head and kisses his cheek. She has to lean up on tiptoes to do so.

Zuko can hardly make himself let her go but he has to. He brings his hands down, fingers brushing together once, lingering.

After bringing them together, their destinies drive them in different directions.

For now.

***

**12 Years Later**

Kya shouldn’t always be sneaking into her parents’ bed, she knows that. She’s a big girl now. Mommy says she’ll be three soon! But when she wakes up in her own bed, feeling cold, cuddling into Daddy is the only thing that makes her feel better. Mommy shakes her head and says she doesn’t understand how _her_ daughter can feel cold in the Fire Nation but Mommy is always cuddled up to Daddy too so Kya doesn’t pay any attention to that.

The connecting door between her parents’ room and hers is always unlocked so all she needs to do is push and she can make her way inside. Daddy will be up soon. He gets up _too_ _early_! But she can sneak in a few moments first. And if she and Mommy both grumble, he even stays with them for a bit.

She goes and stands at his side of the bed. She can’t climb up yet, it’s too tall. But she’s found if she goes and stares at Daddy fixedly enough, he feels it in his sleep and wakes up. He stirs, looks down at her and moves to lift her up onto the bed. Mommy mumbles from where she is tucked behind his back and Kya giggles.

“Shhh,” he whispers. “We don’t want to wake your mother, do we?”

No, Mommy is cranky if woken too early. Kya tries to fit her arms around her father’s chest but cannot quite manage. She lightly pats the back of his shoulder where she knows a black drawing rests. Both of them have them and she wants one too. But Daddy always looks grave at that and says maybe one day. Uncle Sokka teases them about it whenever they visit him and Uncle Aang shakes his head and says only her parents would go and get marks that everyone assumed were fairytales. She doesn't fully understand but she’s heard people say Mommy and Daddy are special because of those drawings and she wonders if she’ll be special too someday.

“Daddy, tell me a story.”

“Okay. One time when your Mommy was pregnant with you, a man...”

She yawns and closes her eyes, feeling one of Mommy’s hands coming to rest on her side. This is perfect, with her parents and warmth and Daddy’s soft voice. She wants to stay here forever.


End file.
